Welcome back to Oslo once more! After joining the SHE conference the first time in March 2020, we promptly went into lockdown for the next 18 months. I joined the conference in 2021 virtually but in 2022, I was so excited and glad to be back at the conference again in person in beautiful Oslo. I took to the stage with fellow panellists to discuss the importance of identity and diversity and inclusion. I was also honoured to join former Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, on stage in the panel discussion. It isn’t often you get to say you shared the stage and a discussion with a former Head of State. I wanted to know how she made decisions given the multitude that leaders have to make every day, always pressing and with urgency. She kindly shared her experiences with me and happily talked to me after we spent time on stage discussing gender equality and the need to do more on inclusion more broadly, including around intersection and compounding discrimination. The rest of the conference was equally fascinating, listening to my good friend Joy Dunn talking about fusion technology and subsequently getting mobbed afterwards by eager fusion enthusiasts and engineers! I also reconnected with a fellow competitor in Paralympic swimming, my Norwegian rival/good friend from my days competing as an S7 swimmer in para-swimming. It was so lovely to spend time with so many wonderful and interesting leaders sparking uncomfortable but thought-provoking debate. Interspersed with dips in ice cold fjords and saunas!! Thank you to the SHE team for having me back for another year!
